The Class
by Accalia Lea
Summary: Sanji drags Ace to a pole dancing class. What will Ace do when he catches a handsome stranger staring at him? Modern world AU.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! So, a few things before we get to the good stuff; I did not originally intend for this story to be multiple chapters. It was a random idea and I found out that the idea was surprisingly easy to write out. I'm still not sure how long this will end up actually being, but I guess we'll just have to find out together. Now for the warning: this will be yaoi! This is also my first time writing about the Ace x Smoker pairing. I'm a huge ZoSan fan normally, so I'd love to hear your thoughts about how I did with this pairing!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own One Piece, 'Don't Cha' by the Pussycat Dolls or 'Fergalicious' by Fergie!

**Chapter 1**

Why on earth had he let Sanji talk him into this again? Ace was not exactly against the idea. It was more that he wasn't a fan of doing it as part of a class. Since Sanji had just started this class roughly a month ago, he was paying close attention to the instructor from their position near the back of the classroom. Ace had chosen the spot closest to the door, farthest away from the teacher, so he could do his own thing while the class was going on without distracting the other students. Sanji had taken the spot directly in front of him.

The class was an hour long and they were maybe 15 minutes into it. There were roughly 20 total students at varying levels of skill, but there was no doubt that Ace was the most talented person in the room. He liked to think it was all just natural talent, but he had to admit that it may have had something to do with his profession and how often he worked out. Winking at the girl in the spot to his right, Ace tightened his grip and swung his feet into the air, wrapping his legs around the pole above his head. The girl blushed and returned her attention to the instructor.

Of course, since the rest of the class was pretty new to pole dancing, they were all using chairs and going through synchronized motions, copying the middle-aged woman at the front of the room. Counting him and Sanji, there were only four men in the room. One of the reasons Ace didn't like doing this type of thing as part of a class was that, when he did this, he preferred to be the center of attention. The easiest way to do that was for him to show off his muscular, tanned body. In a classroom setting he was forbidden from stripping. The other reason he disliked this setting was that he had to watch the other students performing.

Sometimes that meant that he had to fight the urge to go over to a person and correct them or show them how to do the move properly. Other times it meant that he had to try not to watch them too closely for fear of becoming aroused. It didn't really help matters that he could be attracted to anyone. He had no preference when it came to gender and there was currently one man and a couple of women in the room that he could see himself having a one night stand with.

Ace was not picky when choosing a sexual partner, but he was very picky when choosing someone to date. He's slept with many people, but so far he has only dated one of them. Her name was Robin. They'd only dated for a few months before mutually deciding to break up. They were still good friends, but they just didn't work as a couple. Ace had gained a lot of friends out of that relationship though, including his best friend, Sanji.

"All right class, show me what you've learned!" The instructor's voice broke Ace's thoughts and he lowered himself to the ground from the top of the pole where he had been spinning with only his hands. She picked up a remote before clicking a button and Ace nearly laughed at the song that came on. 'Don't Cha' by the Pussycat Dolls.

_Ooh baby. I know you like me (I know you like me). I know you do (I know you do). _As the song started, blasting from the speakers in the ceiling, Ace glanced at his phone. The class was almost over so he decided to have a little fun. Glancing toward the door, which lead back into the gym this class was held in, he noticed eyes on him from the other side of the glass wall. The man was tall, at least 6'10", with white hair and a scar that ran from the center of his forehead to the corner of his right eye and back toward his ear on that side. He was wearing a very form fitting t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

Ace swallowed as his eyes quickly raked over the muscular form of the handsome man and he decided to show off a little. _Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?_ The chorus came on and Ace held eye contact with the stranger as he leaned back against the pole raising his hands up above his head to grip it for support. He rotated his hips slowly one time before sliding down the pole and parting his legs, using the momentum from his left leg's movement to push him to the opposite side of the pole. With his back now to the glass Ace released the pole and leaned forward, sliding his ass against the pole as he stood.

_Hmm, don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? (like me). _Walking around the pole, Ace swung his hips a bit as he reached down and pulled his shirt over his head. He heard the girl he had been flirting with earlier draw in a breath, but he ignored her, his eyes once again locked on the stranger's.

Licking his lips he turned back to the pole and wrapped his hands around it, hoisting himself up to wrap one leg around it. He pushed himself into a lazy spin and took his hands off of the pole, using them instead to gently caress his exposed torso as he leaned back, smirking at the stranger upside down as he saw the man bite his lower lip. Grabbing the pole beneath him, Ace slowly released his leg's grip on the pole and began to lower his legs back down toward the floor. As he moved he allowed the muscles in his abdomen to roll and kept his legs parted as far as he could, giving a clear indication of the power in his arms and body.

_Hot. Freak. Hot._ The last few words of the song died off as he finished, his back once again pressed to the pole. Glancing at the window, Ace noticed that the stranger had disappeared. Frowning, he turned back to the class to notice that almost everyone was staring at him, including the teacher, but she was glaring angrily. Ace chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll just, uh...go now," he said as he reached down to retrieve his shirt. Huffing, the teacher turned back to the rest of the class and congratulated them all for doing so well before dismissing them. Ace rushed out the door back into the gym hoping to see the stranger he had performed for.

"Hey, wait up!" Sanji complained as he exited the room, holding the door for a few ladies before running up to Ace.

"What was all that about?"

"Uh, nothing," Ace replied, not sure he wanted to tell Sanji about the man. "Wanna tell me why you wanted to take that class anyway?" He hoped to change the subject. Sanji raised a suspicious eyebrow at him, but accepted the subject change.

"Well, I was thinking that I'd like to climb Zoro like a pole, but I wanted to learn how to do it properly first," he said in a serious tone and Ace nearly choked.

"You and Zoro? Since when?!" Ace demanded. Sanji had always been a ladies man so he was surprised to hear about his best friend showing interest in a guy.

"Since tonight hopefully. I sorta asked him on a date, but I don't think he realized that's what it is." Ace laughed and clapped a hand onto Sanji's shoulder.

"Good luck man! Let me know how it goes," he said as they reached the door of the gym. Ace glanced around the main room were the weights were one last time, but still didn't see the stranger. With a small sigh he followed Sanji out onto the street before waving goodbye as the blond got into his car and Ace turned to walk the block back to his apartment.

The class was held four nights a month on a Saturday. Ace had never planned to go more than once and he knew that he most likely wouldn't be welcomed back after last time. Despite that he still found himself accompanying Sanji the next week. He might not be allowed in the class again, but he could still work out right? Exercise was the sole purpose of a gym. It's not like he was going back because he was looking for anyone in particular.

Sanji pointed out that he could work out for free at the firehouse where he worked, but Ace quickly pointed out that he couldn't fuck any of his coworkers and there were a lot of attractive people at Sanji's gym. The blonde once again raised a suspicious eyebrow, but said nothing more as they walked in. Ace made his way back to the changing room as Sanji pulled open the door to his classroom and went in. Scanning the weight room, Ace saw no sign of the handsome stranger.

After changing into his workout clothes Ace made his way to the upper level. There were a few rooms up here, all of which had floor to ceiling glass walls separating them from the main area. Glancing through each one, he still saw no sign of the white haired man. Sighing, he made his way into one of the rooms, deciding to warm up with a jog on one of the treadmills. He had nearly completed a mile when a flash of white caught his eye.

Down on the main level the handsome stranger was walking toward the door. He stopped to glance into the pole dancing classroom, but didn't seem to see what he was looking for as he quickly disappeared out the front door. No! Where had he been? How had Ace missed him?! The firefighter cursed silently to himself, knowing that it would be pointless to run after the man. Once he had finished his warm up, Ace made his way down to the main floor, stripping out of his shirt.

He spent the next half hour working on his abs as the gym had slightly better equipment for that than the firehouse did. When he was done he quickly showered in the locker room before slipping back into his street clothes and catching Sanji by the exit.

The same situation happened three more times. Ace would look for the stranger before beginning his workout and would catch a glimpse of the man leaving from the other side of the gym. No matter how sexy the man was Ace was ready to give up. It had been nearly two months since he had last gotten laid and he decided it was time for a night out at a club and a one night stand.

"Hey Sanji. You have any plans for tonight?"

"Not really. Why?" Sanji asked.

"You should grab the gang and we should all go to the club tonight. What'd'ya say?" He clapped Sanji on the shoulder and grinned.

"Sounds like fun actually. I'll let everyone know. What club did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of that new place that just opened up, Grand Line."

"Sounds good! I've been wanting to check out their food. See you there around 8?" Sanji asked and shot Ace a thumbs up when he nodded in approval.

That evening as Ace prepared to go out he decided to just forget about the handsome stranger from the gym. They obviously weren't meant to meet if it was this difficult. Tonight he would focus on finding a sexy little thing to go home with and fuck them into any available surface before leaving, never to see them again.

Digging into his closet, Ace pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans and his black, sleeveless, mesh shirt. He added a studded belt to the pants and connected a silver chain from his belt loop to his wallet in his front right pocket. There were rips up and down the front of his pant legs and he tucked the cuff into the top of his black, high top skate shoes. Going into the bathroom he grabbed some gel and used it to style his black hair so that it hung down around his face and neck loosely. Giving himself a once over in the floor length mirror behind his bathroom door, Ace had to admit that he looked a bit Gothic, but sexy as hell.

Tucking his phone into his front left pocket, Ace grabbed his keys and locked his apartment before making his way toward the downtown area and the new club. His group of friends was just getting to the entrance as he walked up. Brook noticed him first and whistled loudly. Smirking, Ace did a little turn to show himself off as the rest of his friends turned to watch. He received another whistle, this one from Franky. Nami and Zoro both rolled their eyes and Sanji yelled at him.

"Quit showing off already! Let's go inside!" Robin proceeded to lead the group inside. It seemed she was a permanent VIP guest and she had gotten them all in tonight. She and Nami immediately went to Robin's private booth to sit. Luffy and Usopp, since they didn't drink, headed straight to the dance floor. The remaining five members of their group headed to the bar.

Feeling the need to get fucked up, Ace quickly ordered a round of shots for the five of them, including two for himself. Sanji ordered a few appetizers and a couple of fruity drinks for the girls before getting Zoro to help him carry them to Robin's booth. Ace watched them go before ordering his third shot.

"So what's the plan tonight Ace-bro?" Franky asked as Brook left to ask a few drunk girls if he could see their panties.

"Get drunk," Ace said before downing the third shot, "and fuck somebody!" Franky laughed and clapped him on the back.

"I like how you think! Might just try to pick up a lady myself," Franky admitted as he turned to the bar to order himself a drink. "Good luck man!" He tilted his drink in a salute toward Ace before he turned to walk over to Robin's booth. When the fourth shot finally hit him and he started feeling a strong buzz, Ace turned to face the dance floor. There were some mildly attractive people, but no one that stood out to him.

"Time to go fishing," he smirked as he walked onto the floor. His version of fishing consisted of him dancing alone, as sexily as possible, until someone took the bait and put their hands on him. If that happened (which it always did) he would size the person up before sealing the deal.

There were two different types of dancing he would do depending on his mood that night. If he was hoping for a female partner he would use dance moves that focused on displaying his power. Break dancing worked quite well depending on the venue. For men, he focused on showing off his flexibility and his better assets. Since he had been pining after a man he had never actually met for the past month and a half, Ace decided he wanted to go home with a man tonight.

As he found a slightly open space on the dance floor, Ace began gently swaying with the music as he felt out the beat, giving the alcohol more time to cloud his senses. Once he found the rhythm he began to move his hips, making sure to stick his ass out as often as possible. The song changed and he chuckled as some of the female patrons squealed in delight at the tune that came floating across the floor from the giant speakers near the front.

_Fergalicious definition make them boys go loco. They want my treasure, so they get their pleasures from my photo. _Fergie, of course, Ace chuckled again. What the hell, why not? Pulling out some of the moves he had displayed during the pole dancing class, Ace began to move to the song. Feeling like he was being watched, the firefighter scanned the surrounding area as he slowly moved himself in a circle.

Finally finding the man who was watching him, Ace smirked and mouthed the next words to the song. _I'm Fergalicious (t-t-t-t-t-tasty, tasty),_ licking his lips at the end as he turned his left side toward the man, leaning down to run his hands over his thighs while shaking his ass. It was pure luck that his watcher was none other than the white-haired stranger. He would not waste this opportunity.

_All the time I turn around brothas gather round. Always looking at me up and down looking at my (uh). _Ace gave his ass another shake, casting a quick glance down over his shoulder, his hands on his upper thighs just below his ass. He then made eye contact with the man and lifted his hand, making the 'come here' gestured with his pointer finger. The man raised an eyebrow and glanced around himself, as if looking for the person Ace was actually trying to summon.

After what felt like forever, the man made eye contact with Ace once more and pointed to himself, eyebrow still raised. Ace nodded enthusiastically and motioned once more for the man to join him. To his disappointment the man raised his hands and shook them as if to say 'no, no, no.' That wouldn't do. _T to the A, to th Y, girl, you tasty._ The song was nearly over and Ace used the end of it to slowly dance his way across the floor toward the white-haired man, holding his gaze the entire time. The man had crossed his arms and was biting his lower lip again while he watched Ace's movements.

"Hello," Ace said as he placed his hands on the man's forearms and the song ended. "My name is Ace. What's yours?" He offered his sexiest smile as he waited for the reply.


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, so I have this bad habit of not fully planning a story before I start writing it. I really wasn't planning on this story becoming this long, but I've got so many ideas now! So, this chapter is written from Smoker's point of view and I found it a bit more difficult to write than the first chapter which was from Ace's point of view. Let me know which point of view you prefer!

Again: I own nothing except the plot!

**Chapter 2**

Smoker didn't like clubs. They were loud, crowded, and caused nothing but trouble for the police force. He was only here tonight because this was a newly opened club and, as the Chief of Police, he felt the need to make an appearance and hopefully dissuade anyone from thinking this club would be a good place to do anything illegal. There was no need for him to wear his uniform, as almost everyone already knew who he was, so he had dressed in a comfortable pair of blue jeans and a black, form fitting shirt. His white vest had been left in his car as it had the holster to his baton sewn into the back.

Crossing his arms, he surveyed the dance floor. It was only around 10PM, but the floor was crowded with drunk patrons. Catching sight of a black-haired man that he had only ever seen once before, Smoker allowed himself to stare. It was the pole dancer from the gym. The first and only time Smoker had seen him, the man had nearly undone the police chief with actions alone. He had become so aroused that he'd had to leave before the class was over, not wanting to embarrass himself.

After that day, Smoker had looked for the man whenever the pole dancing class was going on, but it seemed that he had only been there for the one time. It didn't matter that much though. The man was very nice to look at, but he seemed young. Smoker wasn't interested in a one night stand...no matter how good that man might potentially be in bed...Groaning, he found his eyes drawn back to the man and at some point, during a rather strange song he didn't recognize, the man caught his gaze.

It was like the gym all over again. The younger man was putting on a show, seemingly all for him, as he held Smoker's gaze the entire time. _T-t-t-t-t-tasty, tasty._ The man licked his lips and Smoker had to bite his own. He continued to watch, his eyes raking over the man's tight, black pants and mesh shirt, noticing the outline of every muscle. Covered in cloth, though he was, the man left little to the imagination and Smoker caught himself wondering what it would be like to have that body sprawled before him, naked and panting. _looking at my (uh). _

Shit. Smoker didn't drink, but he was desperately craving one of his cigars right now. There was no question in his mind that the younger man was interested in spending a night with him, but could he do that? At 34 years old, he had thought he was past the days of a quick fuck with a sexy drunk. When the man beckoned him he feigned ignorance, glancing around himself before finally pointing at his chest. After a brief exchange of gestures the man made his way over to where Smoker was standing and when he spoke Smoker made a decision.

"Hello," the man said, placing his hands on Smoker's forearms. "My name is Ace. What's yours?" Matching the sexy smirk he received with one of his own, Smoker replied.

"I'm the Chief of Police and I think you need to come with me sir." Moving his hands from where they had been hanging by his sides, Smoker grabbed the younger man's hips and pulled him forward until they were pressed together. His smirk only grew when the black-haired man's eyes widened upon feeling Smoker's growing erection pressed against his abdomen.

"Usually us firefighter's tend to ignore the police," Ace replied, his eyes flicking down to Smoker's lips briefly. Smoker found himself wondering how he hadn't known Ace if he truly was a firefighter, but he quickly brushed the thought from his mind.

"Do you intend to resist?" Smoker growled against Ace's ear and smirked once more as he felt the younger man shiver.

"No sir," Ace replied and Smoker released his hips, grabbing his hand instead, and moved toward the exit.

The drive back to the police chief's house was a short one and Smoker unlocked the door, allowing Ace to enter first. After shedding their shoes by the door, Smoker showed the younger man where the bathroom was and while Ace used it, Smoker moved to the kitchen to splash some cold water on his face. He then made his way to his bedroom and removed the belt from his jeans. It still bothered him that he hadn't known Ace was a firefighter. He knew most of them pretty well due to how often their jobs coincided. How old was his house guest anyway? Something seemed a little off about this situation.

"So officer, I never did get your name," Ace smiled as he walked into the room and moved to stand in front of Smoker. The lighting was much better here than it had been at the club and Smoker took a moment to study the man's face up close in the light for the first time. He really did look young. A dusting of freckles spattered his face across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. His eyes were a navy blue color that were so dark they were nearly black. It must have been taking him too long to answer as Ace suddenly leaned forward, pressing their lips together.

"Mpfh," the small sound escaped him before he could stifle it and he felt Ace's hands slide up his neck and into his hair in response. Placing his own hands on Ace's hips once more he felt himself being moved toward his bed and then being pulled down on top of the younger man. A hot tongue pressed against his lips, asking for entrance, and Smoker obliged.

As their tongues met the police chief allowed his weight to rest on the firefighter, pressing him firmly into the mattress and keeping him still. He could tell that Ace was coming down off of his drunk buzz and would be tired very soon. No matter how sexy the man was, Smoker didn't feel comfortable fucking him until he had a few more answers. For now they would both have to be content with making out.

They kept it slow, lazily exploring each other's mouths as their tongues moved against one an other's. Ace's hands stayed in his hair, tugging gently or scratching lightly at his scalp and making it very difficult for Smoker to ignore his slowly hardening member. Just when he thought he couldn't take any more, Ace pulled back slightly and stifled a yawn. Smoker gave him a small smirk and Ace smiled sheepishly up at him.

"Let's get some rest," the police chief said as he rolled off of Ace and quickly removed his jeans and shirt before crawling into bed, under the blankets. Ace followed suit and once he was beneath the blankets he pressed himself against Smoker's side, resting his head on the older man's shoulder, and quickly dozed off.

When morning came Smoker woke to find the younger man wrapped around him like a blanket and snoring softly. He studied the man's face in the soft rays of sun that peeked through his curtains and found himself smiling. What he was seeing now was the complete opposite of what he had witnessed at the club and at the gym. Gone was the confident, sexual, strong firefighter. Ace was just as sexy now, but he looked peaceful, innocent, and very happy.

That last thought made Smoker think twice. Had this man not looked happy when he was awake? Ace had made it clear that he desired Smoker, but why was it that he looked so much happier now, in the police chief's bed, limbs tangled together, than he had ever seemed before? Not wanting to think too much into it, Smoker gently untangled his limbs from Ace's and stood, pulling on a pair of sweatpants before making his way into the kitchen, lighting a cigar on the way.

There was no way of knowing how much the younger man had had to drink last night, but Smoker figured he would probably have some sort of a hangover. He decided to make coffee and bacon and eggs for his house guest. Just as he placed the last strip of bacon onto a plate Ace came into the room, fully dressed in his clothing from last night.

"Mmm, smells amazing," the younger man smiled gratefully as he took the offered plate from Smoker. He took a seat at the small dining table in the center of the kitchen and began to eat, a sinful moan passing his lips as he took a bite of the bacon. Smoker swallowed and tried to focus on pouring the coffee.

"Would you like cream or sugar?" He asked as he poured just a small amount of cream into his own cup.

"No, thank you. Black is just fine," Ace smiled up at him as he took the cup and drank quickly. The firefighter's phone rang, breaking the silence, and Ace took it out frowning briefly at the caller ID. "Portgas," he spoke after selecting accept. "Uh huh...yeah...on my way sir." He clicked the disconnect button and stood, moving toward the door.

"Everything okay?" Smoker asked, trying not to admit to himself that he didn't want Ace to leave.

"There's a fire. They want rescue on standby and I need to get over there. I left my number on your night stand," Ace replied as he quickly moved back into the room to plant a soft, farewell kiss on Smoker's lips. "I expect your first message to include your name!" And with that he was gone, the front door clicking shut behind him.

Smoker sat staring at the front door, feeling slightly stunned, for a few minutes after Ace had left. Then he shook his head, chuckling lightly, before finishing his breakfast and preparing to go to the station. If there was a fire, it was likely that the police would be called as well and besides...he had just learned his mystery man's last name. If he couldn't get answers from the man himself, perhaps he could do a little digging in his down time at work. With that thought, he stood to clean the dishes and then get ready for work.

As it turned out, not very many officer's were needed at the scene of the fire. The fire department had determined that the cause of the fire was a short in the wiring within the wall of one of the apartments. Smoker sent two of his officer's to the scene to take a few statements, but there wasn't much else that would be needed from the police department. The only thing that worried him was that when he got the report he found that five of the apartment's residents and one firefighter had been sent to the hospital due to burns or other injuries.

Smoker pulled out the slip of paper Ace had left on his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone. He opened his messages and clicked the option to send a new message before entering the number written on the paper. Staring at the screen, he contemplated what he should say. Remembering Ace's words from that morning he started the message. _Hello, this is Police Chief Smoker..._There, he had identified himself properly, but what should he say next? Would it be strange for him to say he was worried when he had only formally met the man last night?

Shit, why was this so difficult? Smoker had never been this concerned with impressions before and it was pissing him off. His original plan had been to just bring the man home last night, fuck him into the mattress, and then never see him again. What had changed? The man _was_ a firefighter so a bit of danger was to be expected with his profession and what did Ace's well-being have to do with Smoker anyways? They weren't dating or anything...though, he certainly wouldn't mind it if they were. _Everything go okay with the fire?_ There, a simple question. Before he could change his mind, Smoker hit send and pushed his phone back into his pants pocket before returning his attention to his stack of paperwork.

It was nearing 6PM when Smoker finally finished dealing with the stack of papers. He still hadn't received a message from Ace and he briefly wondered if perhaps the man had given him a wrong number. Then he remembered the look on Ace's face and the gentle kiss he had given before leaving the house this morning and pushed that thought from his mind. Not quite wanting to go home yet, Smoker opened up the police database and typed 'Ace Portgas' into the search bar.

This database was primarily for criminals or victims of serious crimes so he was surprised when the search provided immediate results. He clicked on the mug shot of the firefighter and began to read over the file. It started with the standard description page and he began to read. Ace was born on January 1st.

"Shit, only 20 years old..." Smoker muttered to himself. Well...at least he was an adult and not a minor. He was originally Japanese so his name was actually 'Portgas D. Ace.' He had two known tattoos, which of course Smoker had noticed, but hadn't paid overly close attention to. The file contained photos, the first of which showed the word 'ASCE' down his upper left bicep with a line through the 'S,' and the second depicted a gang symbol he didn't recognize on Ace's back.

Clicking the button for more information, Smoker furrowed his eyebrows. The message that popped up on the screen couldn't mean anything good. '_This information is classified. Requires higher clearance._' At that moment his phone buzzed in his pocket, pulling him out of his thoughts. He closed the database, resolving to ask one of his friend's in the FBI about the classified file later, and pulled the phone from his pocket.

_Smoker huh? I like it. Fire was beautiful. Saved five people, but...I might have to stay at the hospital for a couple days._ Shit, Smoker cursed as he read the message. So Ace was the firefighter who had gotten hurt. Also, what the hell did he mean, 'fire was beautiful?' Was he a pyromaniac? Dammit, why did the first person he'd been attracted to in such a long time have to be such a mystery? Was this man worth the trouble?

Smoker ran his fingers through his hair. Last night at the club he had made the decision to bring Ace home, maybe even sleep with him, and the police chief was not one to go back on his own decisions, especially not to himself. All he could do now was hope that Ace could return any of those feelings of wanting to get to know the other man better and potentially starting a relationship. Since Ace was currently stuck in a hospital bed for an unknown period of time, perhaps he could get some answers out of the man. Smoker stood, pulling on his vest and slipping his baton into it's holster across his back, before grabbing his keys and preparing to go to the hospital.

"It's really not...*cough...that bad," Ace was arguing with a very angry looking nurse when Smoker entered his room. The nurse kept insisting that he lay down and was trying to hold an oxygen mask over his mouth as Ace coughed regularly. He was wearing a hospital gown, that he was trying to pull off, and boxers. The gown had come open in the back, revealing the man's tattoo and Smoker took a moment to study it, mentally comparing it to the image from the police file.

In the picture he had seen, there had clearly been some sort of gang symbol, but he must have gotten it covered up. Now there was only a large fire department emblem displaying the words 'Fire' and 'Dept' on the top and then bottom consecutively. The left leaf displayed a fire hydrant with a ladder on the opposite side. In the center was a fire helmet with a crossing ladder, hook, hatchet and pole behind it. It was an impressive piece of art.

Smoker was drawn out of his studying when Ace coughed yet again, still struggling to get out of the bed. The frustrated nurse had noticed him and now looked at him, a pleading expression on her face. The police chief met her gaze and nodded, before turning his attention back to the coughing firefighter. At that moment he noticed that Ace's right arm was in a cast. The younger man must have broken it.

"What..." Ace started to ask, but broke into a coughing fit. Instead of finishing his question he simply turned his head to see what the nurse was staring at.

"Stop struggling, or I'll arrest you," Smoker smirked and Ace smiled, but hesitated a moment longer before allowing himself to be pushed back onto the bed, oxygen mask firmly covering his mouth and nose.

"Thank you Chief," the nurse smiled gratefully as she proceeded to pull a blanket up to Ace's waist from the end of the bed.

"How bad did this idiot get it?" Ace glared at him, clearly not happy about being called an idiot, but Smoker ignored it, focusing on the nurse. She hesitated, glancing at Ace to confirm if it was okay to release his personal medical information and Smoker was surprised when he nodded in confirmation.

"Well, it seems he ran into the building to rescue those five people without gearing up first," she tossed a quick glare over her shoulder at the black-haired man. "Somehow he managed not to receive a single burn, but his lungs are damaged from smoke inhalation and he broke his arm breaking through a wall to get the people out."

Smoker couldn't suppress the surprised look of shock that came to his face at what she said. He turned his wide eyes toward Ace once more. The man shrugged, as if to say 'it was nothing,' and turned his head away, a light blush of embarrassment on his face.

"We need to keep him here overnight, possibly a bit longer, just to make sure he recovers from the smoke inhalation, but he seems determined to leave. Could I ask you to stay and make sure he doesn't flee while my back is turned?" The nurse turned pleading eyes on Smoker once more and he sighed in frustration, running a hand over his face.

"Got a cot for me?" She nodded, clearly trying to hide her happiness, and left the room to retrieve one for him. When she was gone, Smoker looked back up at Ace. The younger man's gaze was on him and he opened his mouth as if to speak. "Don't talk. You'll recover quicker that way," Smoker cut him off before he could start. Ace furrowed his brows in annoyance, but didn't try to speak again. The nurse soon returned with a cot and set it up for the police chief before leaving to tend her other patients.

"You try to run while I sleep and I'll kill you," Smoker said gruffly as he laid down. To anyone else it may have sounded like a serious threat, but Ace only snickered quietly behind the oxygen mask before settling down to sleep. Smoker listened to his slightly raspy breathing combined with the sounds of the hospital equipment as he stared at the ceiling.

This kid clearly had some sort of dark past if the police report was anything to go by, but so far all Smoker had seen was an incredibly sexy, young man who had risked his life to save five innocent strangers today. What on earth could be in that classified file? Did he need to know bad enough to go to one of his FBI buddies, or could he wait for Ace to trust him enough to tell him on his own? Smoker closed his eyes, preparing to sleep for a few hours. No, in order for this to work he needed to trust Ace and he couldn't do that until he knew everything. He would speak to someone tomorrow and get the answers he needed.


	3. Chapter 3

So, this chapter ended up being a little longer than I thought it would be. Hopefully you like it!

Once again, I do not own One Piece or the characters. I also do not own Desire by Meg Myers!

**Chapter 3**

Ace woke the next morning to a pounding headache and an extremely sore, dry throat. Not wanting to open his eyes, he lifted his right hand to wipe at his face, but flinched when the cast struck his forehead. Shit, he had forgotten about that. As soon as he remembered it, that arm started throbbing painfully. Slowly, he blinked his right eye open, glaring at the light that flooded the room. After a few moments he managed to open both eyes, squinting, and focused on the cup that sat at his bedside table.

Using his left hand this time, he reached up to pull the annoying oxygen mask off and throw it toward the foot end of the bed, before grabbing the cup and drinking the water greedily. The cup was drained all to quickly and he glanced around, searching for the pitcher. He didn't see one, but he did see the unoccupied cot Smoker had used. Noticing movement, he squinted at the door and saw Smoker pacing back and forth just outside of it. He was talking on the phone and he must not have liked whatever he was hearing because he scowled and ran his free hand through his hair agitatedly.

"Thanks Issho," Smoker sighed as he opened the door, ending his conversation on the phone and hanging it up before noticing Ace staring at him. "Morning."

"H-hi," Ace stuttered, voice still slightly raspy. "Water?" He didn't trust his voice enough to speak more than one word at a time, but thankfully Smoker seemed to understand what he wanted and walked back out of the room.

When the white-haired man returned a nurse was following him. Ace noticed it was a different one from last night and was silently relieved. She brought a pitcher of water with her, but set it on the bedside table and took the cup from him, setting it on the table as well. Ace scowled at her.

"I need to examine you first," she explained as she placed her stethoscope into her ears before pressing the other end to his chest and instructing him to take a deep breath. She repeated this on both sides of his chest, front and back, before pulling out a small flashlight and made him open his mouth. She used a tongue depressor and told him to say 'ah.' Ace nearly gagged at the wooden taste, but complied. "Looks much better than yesterday. I'll have the doctor come in to do a final exam, but you should be able to go home today."

"Water," Ace rasped, not caring about her exam. He knew from experience that the only exam that mattered was the one the actual physician performed as it was the exam that would allow him to leave this sterilized prison. Rolling her eyes at Ace's rudeness, the nurse poured a cup and handed it to him, leaving the pitcher beside the bed before making her way out to find the doctor.

"Feeling better yet brat?" Smoker asked as he watched Ace down the cup before quickly pouring another. He paused in his pouring to glare at the nickname, but quickly resumed his action. After downing a third cup and half of the fourth he met Smoker's eyes once more.

"Throat's a bit sore," he shrugged, "and this sucks, but I'm alright." By 'this' he had meant his broken arm, which he had gestured to, but really, he'd had worse. Before Smoker could reply, the door opened and the physician walked in carrying a clipboard. Ace sat up a bit straighter, attempting to appear healthy as a horse.

"Alright Mr. Portgas, I hear you're wanting to go home today, huh?" The doctor started and Ace noticed Smoker attempt to stifle a grimace. He felt much the same way, but he knew how doctors worked.

"Yes sir. What do you say, am I okay to go?" he smiled. It was fake.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" The doctor then proceeded to perform an exam very similar to the one the nurse had done before nodding. "I think I can allow you to leave, but I cannot allow you to leave alone. Someone will need to stay with you for the next 24 hours in case your throat closes up from the damage. Do you have family we can call for you?"

Ace clenched his jaw momentarily, but fought to keep the pain of those words from reaching his eyes. His natural defense was humor and he turned to that now. Smirking dumbly, he raised his hands shrugging his shoulders at the same time as if to say 'what can I say?' The doctor sighed, almost sadly.

"Friends in the area then? If not, I'm afraid I can't release you yet." Ace's eyes widened at the statement. He hated hospitals, but he couldn't just run out of this one. Whenever he had bailed on hospitals in the past he had been able to leave town, never having to worry about facing those doctors again. It was different now. He was tied to this town whether he liked it or not.

"He can stay with me." The voice startled Ace and he looked up to meet Smoker's gaze. He had nearly forgotten that the police chief was there, but what surprised him most was the man's willingness to help him. Immediately, he felt himself put up a wall. Ace had been more than willing to fuck this man, but this was a level of closeness that he didn't want to feel.

To allow himself to become close to someone in that manner again was to invite more pain into his life. He'd had close friends and he'd had a family, all back in Japan, but he'd had to leave it all behind for a very good reason. He had a few friends here, but he wouldn't burden them with this. They tended to overreact and he knew they wouldn't take his injuries well.

He swallowed, trying again to hide any pain he might be feeling, and looked from Smoker back to the doctor before nodding. As much as he didn't want to risk getting close to Smoker, he hated hospitals even more. The doctor smiled before signing a form and passing it to Ace to sign as well. It was awkward trying to sign with his left hand, but Ace managed.

"Alright Mr. Portgas, you may leave now. Here are your clothes. We included a pair of scrubs for you since your clothes are so damaged." The doctor then turned and moved toward the door. "Chief," he nodded to Smoker as he passed the man and then the doctor was through the door and gone, much to Ace's relief.

When the door had fully closed, Ace tossed the blanket aside and fisted the hospital gown in his left hand. He gave the garment a sharp tug at the front and the strings that tied it in the back ripped easily beneath his powerful motion. Dropping the garment on the bed, he stood, fully aware that he was only clad in boxers, and smirked at Smoker's deep blush before proceeding to dress in the scrubs he had been provided. If he was going home with this man, it would be good to keep Smoker's interest focused on sex.

The drive back to Smoker's house was longer this time as it was farther away from the hospital than it was from the club. It also took longer because they'd had to stop by the pharmacy and pick up Ace's prescription for painkillers. His arm was throbbing so much that he'd taken one immediately and it had started to kick in by the time they reached Smoker's house. Whatever they had given him during his stay in the hospital was shit compared to this. Ace's head felt fuzzy and any pains he had been experiencing had melted away into nothing.

"Come on brat. You look like you're about to fall asleep in my car and I don't think you want to be carried," Smoker said before getting out of the car and moving to unlock his front door. Ace followed the older man, although moving at a much slower pace.

"Who said I wouldn't wanna be carried?" He tried to smirk at the police chief, but it morphed into a yawn. Smoker rolled his eyes and, after kicking off his boots, moved toward his bedroom. Ace quickly followed. He doubted anything sexual would happy, but his painkiller-drugged brain desperately wanted to just curl up in the older man's arms and sleep there.

They took turns using the bathroom and Ace cursed a few times as he struggled to function without the use of his dominant hand. The fatigue continued to grow and when he was finally ready for bed he tugged the scrub shirt over his head and kicked the pants to the floor before curling himself into the side of Smoker, who was already laying down on his back.

Ace noticed a small smirk on the older man's lips as Smoker watched the firefighter get comfortable, nuzzling his face into Smoker's shoulder and resting his broken arm across the police chief's stomach. Feeling an arm wrap around his shoulders, Ace hummed in contentment. Sleep had nearly taken him when Smoker suddenly spoke.

"Why did you do it?"

"Hm?" What on earth was he talking about?

"Run in without gear? You could have died," Smoker explained, and Ace thought he caught a hint of concern in the man's voice. Could just be his sleep hazed mind playing tricks on him though.

"'s just who I 'm," Ace slurred as he fought sleep. "'m jus' one person...they 're five...had families..." Ace trailed off as he lost the battle and sleep took him.

Ace spent the next 24 hours at Smoker's house, per the doctor's orders. As much as he had enjoyed falling asleep in the man's arms, Ace requested to be taken home as soon as the 24 hour period was up. He wasn't particularly thrilled about the police chief knowing where he lived, but he didn't have much other choice in the matter. Smoker would never allow him to walk in this state and he wouldn't approve of Ace taking a taxi. As they pulled up outside of Ace's building, he felt the older man tense beside him.

"You live here?" Ace noticed Smoker fight a grimace on the last word. This area was generally known throughout this town as 'the slums.' It was the side of town that a great many criminals and undesirables lived in. This particular building was a run down, two story apartment building that had been a shitty motel at one point. It was odd that this area of town was so close to the more decent areas. For example, the gym where the pole dancing class was held was only a block away.

"Yup, home sweet home," Ace smirked as he opened the car door, grabbed his bag from the hospital and leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Smoker's lips. Before he could pull away, Smoker's hand shot up to grab the back of his neck and pull him in, deepening the kiss. A moment later he released Ace, a slight blush covering his cheeks.

"Can I...see you again some time?" Ace watched as the man's blush deepened slightly and smirked.

"Give me some time to heal up and then maybe I'll put on another show for you," he winked before jumping out of the car and closing the door. He then ran into the building, not looking back.

It took a full month and half for Ace's arm to fully heal. He stayed in the doctor's office exactly long enough for them to remove the cast, perform a quick exam and sign a couple papers. As soon as he was able to run out the front door, Ace pulled out his phone a shot a quick text to Smoker. '_All healed up. Wanna celebrate?_' He hit send before he had time to really think about it. He had time to ponder it over as he walked toward the fire station though and he found himself doubting what he had done.

Ace had told himself a few times that he couldn't allow anyone to get close to him so why was he wanting to spend more time with the police chief? He tried to tell himself it was only because he hadn't fucked the man yet, but images of the two times he had slept in Smoker's arms kept coming back to him. The embrace had felt warm and secure...safe. Nearly smacking himself, Ace pushed the thoughts from his mind as he entered the station and made his way upstairs to tell the boss he could work again.

The fire chief was happy to have him back to work, but was quick to threaten him against running into a burning building without gearing up again. Ace just laughed and waved to his boss as he left the office. He would never promise not to just run in if it meant saving the lives of innocent people who would be dead otherwise. Besides, he loved fire and fire seemed to love him. In his entire life Ace had never been burned, not even so much as a sunburn, regardless of all the dangerous situations he had been in.

Buzz, buzz. Ace pulled out his phone, his heart rate spiking slightly when he noticed the message was from Smoker. '_Sure, dinner at my place?_' Shit, he didn't really want to have a date with the police chief, but at least they would be at his house. That left the door wide open for some other adult activities and Ace shivered in anticipation. He quickly responded and they agreed to meet up tonight. He rushed home to get ready, deciding to push aside his doubts just for tonight.

When Smoker opened his door that evening Ace had to fight back a laugh. He did allow himself to smirk at the look on the police chief's face however. The firefighter had decided to keep his outfit simple. He wasn't trying to do anything more than get in this man's pants, so he had gone with his usual black jean shorts, his belt with the leather strap hanging down on the right side, and his black combat boots. Of course, he was shirtless and his smirk came when he noticed Smoker licking his lips as the man's eyes raked over his exposed, muscular torso.

"Hi chief," Ace purred and Smoker finally pulled his eyes up to look at Ace's.

"Hey brat. Uh, come in. Food's ready," Smoker said before leaving the door open and turning away to walk back into his kitchen. Ace entered, shutting the door behind him and kicking off his combat boots, then followed the older man into the kitchen that smelled amazing. An impressive amount of food was laid before him on the table. The older man had cooked steak, vegetables, dinner rolls and even some cupcakes for dessert.

Ace wanted to eat it all, but he forced himself not to get too full. He had other plans for the night that would require his stomach not to cramp up. When they had finished eating the firefighter helped the older man clean up before they made their way into the living room. Smoker took a seat on the couch and looked up at Ace.

"You wanna watch a movie or something?" Ace smirked, licking his lips slightly as he eyed the man on the couch. Smoker was wearing faded blue jeans and a skin tight black t-shirt. It had been difficult to ignore that fact while eating, but now his eyes were free to roam over the muscular form of his host for the evening.

"Or something," Ace replied, implying he wasn't interested in a movie. Smoker raised a brow, but said nothing as Ace pulled out his phone and prepared the song he had picked out. "I promised you another show, remember?" He saw Smoker swallow, but he didn't reply, his eyes fixed on Ace's every movement.

_Baby, I'll learn to touch you. I wanna breathe into your well. _The song started and Ace placed his phone down on the coffee table, quickly checking to make sure there was enough space between the table and the couch for him to move comfortably. This song was called Desire by Meg Myers and it had what Ace thought of as the 'crazy red head vibe' which meant 'I'll fuck you and then set you're house on fire.' It could almost be his theme song. _Baby, I wanna fuck you, I WANNA FEEL YOU IN MY BONES._

Returning his full attention to the song and the man before him Ace began to move. He slowly rotated his hips in a circle, casting his glance down to the right with his chip nearly resting on his collar bone. With each rotation of his hips he flexed his abs allowing his muscles to ripple slightly beneath the skin. _DESIRE, I'm hungry,_ Ace moved to straddle Smoker's hips biting his lower lip, _I hope you feed me. _With that lyric he rolled his body down against the older man, hands on the back of the couch as first his chest was pressed against Smoker's, rolling down until he was fully seated on the police chief's lap.

Leaning back slightly, Ace placed his hands on Smoker's knees and began rotating his hips in time with the song. Smoker had placed his arms on the back of the couch and was now gripping the tops of the cushions tightly as Ace moved. _Boy, I wanna taste you, I wanna skin you with my tongue. _Ace sat up to mouth those words before leaning forward, his left hand bracing against Smoker's chest, and ran his tongue lightly up the side of the older man's neck. _I wanna feel YOU, I want it ALL._ His hands were now exploring, running freely over Smoker's chest, abdomen and sides, as his mouth slowly worked around the police chief's neck. _How do you want me, how do you want me?_

As the song ended, Ace pulled back and tilted his head, letting the song ask the question for him. Smoker was panting beneath him. Before he knew what had happened, Smoker's hands were off the back of the couch and tugging at his neck and hair, pulling him forward into a heated kiss. At Ace's gasp of surprise he felt the other man's tongue enter his mouth. He tasted like steak and smoke and it was just about the most delicious thing he'd ever experienced.

Smoker's hands left his neck to run over his exposed torso before gripping his thighs and then they were moving as Smoker stood. Ace wrapped his legs around the older man's waist and they both moaned slightly into the kiss as their erections were pressed together beneath their clothes. The firefighter wasn't sure how they made it to a bedroom without breaking the kiss, but he suddenly found himself on his back on a very large, soft bed.

Finally breaking the kiss, Smoker sat up slightly to pull his shirt over his head as Ace worked at the button on the older man's jeans. As he finally got it open Smoker's hands moved to his belt, making quick work of the little clothing Ace was wearing, before standing to pull off the shorts. Smoker growled in approval as he found that Ace wasn't wearing any underwear. The man kicked out of his jeans and underwear before reaching over to grab a bottle of lube from the beside table.

Ace's eyes were drawn to Smoker's impressive member and he licked his lips. The police chief had moved back onto the bed, but before he could open the bottle of lube, Ace quickly got up and pushed him down onto the bed. Before the older man could protest, the firefighter moved down and wrapped his lips around the hard length, using his tongue to draw it further into this mouth. Smoker hissed.

"Shit," Ace smirked and hollowed his cheeks as he began bobbing his head up and down slowly. When he reached the tip he ran his tongue over the slit and then felt a hand tug sharply on his hair. He released the length with a soft slurping sound, saliva connecting the tip to his mouth for a moment. Licking the fluid from his lips he smirked once more.

Smoker was looking at him like a starving animal watching its prey. The raw sexual desire in his eyes was exactly what Ace had wanted. He wanted Smoker to fuck him into this mattress and then they could both move on. The hand in his hair roughly pulled him up and then they were kissing again. He pulled the older man on top of him once again and took the bottle of lube that lay forgotten beside them.

The police chief pulled back as he heard the cap pop open and he watched Ace intently as the younger man poured a generous amount onto his palm. Ace reached down between them and wrapped his lubed hand around Smoker's length, coating it fully.

"What are you doing? Don't we need to..." Ace cut him off before he could finish the question.

"I don't want prep. Just fuck me," he growled as he pulled Smoker back into a rough kiss, biting the older man's lower lip. The police chief lined himself up and plunged into Ace in one swift motion, burying his impressive length fully inside of Ace's ass.

"Ah, shit," Ace cried out as pain and pleasure lanced through his lower half. He dug his nails into Smoker's shoulders and when the older man didn't move he began to grind himself down onto the shaft inside of him. "Move dammit."

Smoker obliged, pulling out slowly before plunging back in once again. He struck Ace's prostate and the firefighter's eyes rolled back in his head as he moaned, back arching to meet each thrust after. They quickly fell into a rhythm and Ace couldn't stop his lust addled mind from thinking that they were made for this, to be like this, together. Smoker sat back slightly, gripping Ace's hips as he began to thrust more forcefully, pulling Ace down onto him with each thrust.

"Smoker!" Ace called out as his prostate was struck repeatedly in the new position. Feeling his orgasm getting closer, Ace reached down to stroke himself, panting heavily.

"Come for me," Smoker growled above him and the tone of his voice sent Ace over the edge. Intense pleasure washed over him as his orgasm came crashing down. He felt his insides clench around the hard shaft that was still pumping into him and then Smoker called Ace's name as he found his own release, buried deep inside. Pulling out gently, the older man collapsed on the bed beside him and they simultaneously moved to embrace each other before quickly drifting to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the delay on this update! Warning, it ends in a bit of a cliff hanger and I don't know how long it will take me to get the next chapter up. Enjoy and please review/follow!

I do not own One Piece or any of the characters!

**Chapter 4**

Smoker woke the next morning to find himself in a familiar position. For the third time the police chief found Ace wrapped around him like a blanket. The only thing that was different was that this time they were both naked. Closing his eyes once again, Smoker sighed deeply. He hadn't planned on that happening. The dinner date was supposed to just be a way for him to ask some questions in a private setting. He had hoped that Ace might answer some of those questions before they ever got this far. But the brat had thrown him a curve ball when he started dancing.

Images of the previous night flashed behind his closed eyelids...Ace's half naked, muscular form moving and flexing in his lap, the feel of Ace's tongue on his neck...he shook his head to clear it. The last thing he needed was to lose control and repeat last night's actions again this morning. Issho had answered a couple of questions over the phone, but in the process he had raised several more for the police chief. Smoker carefully extracted himself from Ace's grasp and dressed before walking out to the kitchen.

Issho was his friend in the FBI. The man hadn't been able to dig up much during the short phone call they had shared that morning when Ace was in the hospital, but he was able to gather a few basic facts of the case. First, Ace had a criminal history, but he was also classified as a victim for one very large case. During that case he had testified against his former gang, The Whitebeards, and was now in witness protection because of it. Issho had promised to call him once he was able to get more information.

Smoker lit a cigar as he started the coffee pot and began cooking some pancakes. His biggest concern as a police officer was what type of criminal history Ace had. The second concern that popped into his mind, rather unexpectedly, was the reason why Ace would be in witness protection. What exactly was Ace a victim of? Could the gang still possibly be searching for him? And, as an afterthought, what was Ace's real name?

Ace woke with a start, the ending of a nightmare flashing briefly behind his eyes, before the pain of the sudden motion of sitting up brought him back to the present. Per his usual defense mechanism, he focused on the pain and the reason behind it in order to forget the nightmare. He took in his surroundings and smirked at the crumpled sheets and his own state of undress. Finally, he had gotten what he wanted from the police chief. Now he would be able to walk out the front door and never look back.

Flinching a little, Ace moved to the side of the bed and stood, searching for his shorts. He pulled them on and then used Smoker's bathroom before making his way to the kitchen. There he found Smoker cooking pancakes and his mouth watered. He made his way over to the coffee pot and got himself a cup before speaking.

"Morning," Ace grinned and he didn't fail to notice the way the older man's eyes quickly raked over his exposed torso before turning back to the pancakes.

Smoker had already been halfway through his second cigar by the time Ace made his way into the kitchen. Knowing that the younger man had entered his home wearing very little did _not_ help his state of mind as he witnessed the glory that was Ace's tanned skin once again. Nothing would ever prepare him for the way Ace made him feel by just walking into a room.

"Morning," Smoker's rough voice replied as he handed a plate with a large stack of pancakes on it to the younger man. "Syrup's in the fridge."

"Thanks!" Ace replied before turning to the fridge. He poured an alarming about of syrup over his stack of pancakes and then proceeded to eat them standing up. By the time Smoker was ready to dig into his own plate, Ace had finished and was placing his dishes in the sink. "Thanks again! I'm gonna head out now. Been far too long since I've hit the gym." He leaned over to place a chaste kiss on Smoker's lips where he sat at the kitchen table. "Bye Smokie." As the front door shut behind the younger man Smoker couldn't help but think that goodbye sounded rather final.

A few weeks passed and Smoker hadn't heard from the firefighter at all. There had been a small house fire that the police chief decided to investigate on his own (he normally sent a rookie or two for something so small), but he had been told that Ace had left the scene as soon as the fire was out. He was tempted to call the younger man, but couldn't think of a good enough sounding reason. It may seem stupid, but Smoker still wanted answers and since Ace didn't seem to want to provide them he'd have to wait for Issho.

Damn FBI agent was taking his fucking time as well. Smoker growled as he lifted the weight in his hand. He was currently working out at the gym he had originally seen Ace in. He most certainly was not looking for anyone in particular and this definitely wasn't a Saturday night. No, and he also wasn't sitting on the main floor, creepily staring through the window of the pole dancing class. Shaking his head, Smoker set the weight down and stood. It was well past time for people to be arriving late to the class and he had been here long enough. It was time to shower and leave.

With a small gym bag slung over his shoulder, Smoker exited the building 15 minutes later. The ringing of his phone drew him out of his thoughts and when he looked at the screen he felt two different emotions simultaneously. First, _damn, it's not Ace._ Second, _Issho. I wonder if he finally has some answers?_ The second thought was laced with a tinge of excitement, though he would never admit to that.

"Smoker," he answered in his usual gruff voice. There was no bullshit. The conversation went straight to business.

"I've got some more information for you. First I have to ask, why did you need all this info? The kid's not causing trouble in your area is he?" Smoker wasn't sure how to respond. Do you tell your high powered FBI friend that you're seeking information as a way to determine compatibility of a potential relationship partner? Better not.

"Not yet, but some things seemed off and you can never be too careful." There, he hadn't lied, but he didn't tell the whole truth either. It really had seemed off to him that he didn't recognize the man when he learned Ace was a firefighter.

"Well, keep an eye on him. His rap sheet is a few miles long and I don't believe for a second that all of those were committed under duress like his lawyer claims. Assault, battery, robbery, and arson are a few of the lesser ones. The favorite seems to have been arson." Smoker's chuckle cut Issho off. "What?"

"The brat's a firefighter in my town," Smoker explained. Now he understood why Ace had said 'the fire was beautiful' in that text. Issho grunted an amused sound.

"Shit, good luck with that. His other crimes, though much fewer in number, include many counts of felony evasion. Also battery, and murder, and, all of police officers." Smoker felt his blood run cold. He had slept with a cop killer. "The interesting part is the gang he was with. Lawyer claims he was kidnapped by them and held against his will. Apparently they had some sort of leverage over him and made him do all of that shit. He testified when their leader was caught and that's why he's in witness protection. Majority of that gang is still out there and they'll be gunning for his head."

Smoker drove home to get ready for work lost in thought. Issho's explanation had answered a few questions, but he couldn't help but feel like there was more to it. Was Ace truly kidnapped and forced to do all of those horrible things? What kind of leverage did that gang have? And for some reason it really bothered him that he still didn't know Ace's real name. He bit down on the cigar in his mouth and took a deep drag before switching his engine off and getting out.

He quickly readied himself for work and then drove to the station. After parking in his designated spot, Smoker pulled out his phone and sighed, running his hand through his hair. The only way he would ever learn any more about Ace was to talk to the man and that couldn't happen if they both continued to ignore each other. Opening his messages he tapped three letters and hit send before he could change his mind.

Ace had been doing a little free running with Luffy over the roof tops of the downtown area when he received the text. He called out to his sworn brother to suggest a break before they leapt off the edge of the roof. Once they landed on the fire escape of the next building they paused and he pulled out his phone.

"Man this is so cool!" Luffy called as he leaned against the railing and spread his arms above his head. The fire escape they were standing on overlooked the river just outside of town and Ace couldn't help but smile at Luffy's joy.

Luffy lived in the same apartment building as Ace and had introduced himself while the firefighter had been carrying his few boxes up the stairs to his second level apartment. They had immediately bonded as Luffy had first called out to Ace before hopping over the railing of the third level he was standing on. He had grabbed the bars and lowered himself before letting go, kicking off the far wall, hopping on the railing next to Ace and then landing on the steps in front of him. Their love of parkour led them to spending a lot of time together free running. When they weren't running they were chatting and soon they were sworn brothers.

Ace's smile turned slightly sad. He hadn't thought he would ever be willing to call someone a brother again after what had happened to his brother back home...shaking his head, Ace returned his attention to the reason for their break. The text was from Smoker and the firefighter couldn't decide if he was happy he had received it, or annoyed. The message was only one word, three letters. It wasn't much, but somehow Ace understood that it meant so much more.

'Hey.' Such an insignificant word, but Ace could feel the meaning behind it. It meant that even though he had been ignoring the police chief, even though he had tried to forget that glorious evening he spent in the man's bed...Smoker had not forgotten him. The police chief didn't seem like he knew what to say, but the man had still wanted to text him. Ace was contemplating whether to respond when the phone in his hands suddenly rang startling him into almost dropping it.

"Portgas," he answered once he had himself under control. "Understood sir. On my way."

"Awe, does that mean we're done?" Luffy whined when Ace had put the phone back in his pocket.

"Only once we've made it back home," Ace smirked and then jumped over the railing, a laughing Luffy trailing behind him.

Smoker had ignored his cell phone for the rest of the day. He wasn't really expecting a response anyway and he had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. It was nearing 4 o'clock in the afternoon when one of the Sergeant's burst through his office door.

"The hell do you want?" Smoker growled, not bothering to hide his disdain for the way his door was treated. The man flinched minutely, but quickly recovered.

"Sorry sir, but a call just came in. There's a massive fire over at the Hanberg Hotel! It was intentional and there are people being held hostage on the roof!" Smoker was running toward the door before the man could even finish his sentence. He shouted orders to the rest of the officers before taking off in his squad car, sirens blaring.

Once he arrived on the scene Smoker noticed a few things that seemed wrong. The 'hostages' he had been told about were currently jumping off the roof into the padded netting that was set up by fire and rescue. No one had called for the police chief to begin negotiations, there was no gun fire, and lastly...all the firefighters looked either extremely worried, or downright pissed off.

"What's going on?" Smoker stopped one of the firemen by placing a hand on his arm.

"They took him. The bastards did all of this just to get to him..." This man was one of the worried ones and Smoker almost dreaded asking who 'him' was. Before he could, the man continued, "They got Ace."


	5. Chapter 5

The last chapter was a little short. Sorry about that. This one is better. Warning for this one: mild torture and some moments that will pull at the heart strings. I'm almost done with this story so this should be the second to last chapter. Let me know what you think!

I don't own One Piece or the characters!

**Chapter 5**

Ace woke in an unfamiliar room and his first emotion was relief. It was a funny emotion to feel considering that he was strapped to a table in a concrete room with a tray of instruments nearby that seemed to belong in a butcher shop. _At least it's not a hospital,_ he thought. The second emotion he felt was anger. Anger at witness protection for failing to keep him safe, anger at himself for not recognizing the trap that had been set and, finally, anger at the men responsible.

The iron door of the room creaked open and heavy footsteps entered the room. Ace kept his eyes trained on the ceiling, but he could make out two sets of footsteps entering before the door shut with a loud clang. After that, only one set of footsteps moved forward. The other must be guarding the door.

"Hello _Firefist_," the man who had moved closer spoke, the name coming out in an angry growl. "Welcome back." Ace recognized the voice instantly and found his eyes drawn to the crazed man's face.

"Blackbeard," Ace stated in a manner that sounded calm, but the man recognized the murderous aura that accompanied the single word and grinned maniacally as he lifted a thin, silver knife.

Smoker's world stopped for all of two seconds as the news of Ace's kidnapping hit him like a train. He nodded to the worried firefighter who had delivered said news and then made his way over to the hostages who were now safely on the ground. He pulled out a note pad and pen before beginning his initial questioning.

More officers were arriving now and he would leave the official statements to them. His goal was to get descriptions of the criminals so they could get an APB or BOLOs out as soon as possible. The police chief could only hope that they could get to Ace while he was still alive. As soon as he had finished the initial questionings he made his way to his squad car, pulling out his phone as he walked. He dialed a number and it rang twice before someone answered.

"Issho. I'm going to need all of the information you have on Portgas D. Ace. He's just been kidnapped."

Having a history with Blackbeard definitely wasn't something to brag about, but in this case it just might save Ace's life. The firefighter didn't hold anything back whenever the knife pierced his skin. For some unfathomable reason, Blackbeard didn't like screams. He preferred his prey to put up a fight and be stubborn. While Ace could easily do both of those things, and normally would, he didn't feel the need to be prideful and end up dead all that much quicker.

"AAAHHHHH," Ace screamed again as the knife dug a line down his right pectoral muscle. Blackbeard sighed, clearly disappointed, and dropped the bloody knife back into the tray.

"What the hell happened to you _Firefist_? You've gotten boring..." the man grumbled before turning and stalking out of the room. The second man left as well and the door clanged shut behind them, leaving Ace to bleed in silence.

Ace tried to distract his mind by thinking of happier times, but he couldn't stop his thoughts from turning back to his history with Blackbeard and the rest of the Whitebeard gang. Ace went by Portgas D. Ace, or just Ace Portgas since he was in America now, but back then his name had been Gol D. Ace. Though he had hidden it well, the gang had discovered his odd pyrokinetic ability and had kidnapped him, holding Ace's mother, father and younger brother hostage as a way to control him.

The pyrokinetic ability allows Ace to start fires by touching the object he wishes to ignite. He can't control the fire once it's started, but his skin is inflammable and can't be harmed by any fire. The gang had abused his power, using it burn down enemy hideouts or buildings after robberies. Ace had taken countless lives, no matter how hard he had tried to avoid doing so. The gang had always made sure that he had no choice.

The Whitebeards had made a fatal mistake when they had killed his family though. They had grown careless, assuming that Ace was so well under their thumbs that they wouldn't need the leverage anymore. As soon as he had learned that they were dead, he had broken out and gone straight to the police. He gave the authorities everything; names, locations, dates. Then he had testified, resulting in the gang's leader being imprisoned for life without parole.

No matter what he said, he knew he had taken too many lives to ever be truly accepted. So many police officers, so many innocents...Ace fought desperately to keep himself from crying. Blackbeard would have a hayday with that if he saw. The icing on the cake was that no one really believed what he had said. His lawyer and the officers that were directly involved in the operation believed it, but it was a case of 'won't believe it unless I saw it' for everyone else. The story was just too fantastic to be believable.

Ace ground his teeth and pulled lightly against the straps that held him to the table, testing their strength. His arms were spread beside him and bent slightly toward his head so that he couldn't twist them. Blackbeard knew that Ace needed to touch something with his palm in order to ignite it and he had done everything in his power to make sure that couldn't happen.

"Are you ready to be more cooperative now _Firefist_?" Blackbeard growled as the metal door creaked open. Ace decided to change tactics. He would still scream, but he would do a little shit-talking in between.

"What exactly did you want me to cooperate with _Blackbeard_?" Ace emphasized the man's name and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he couldn't move much else. "I noticed that I'm only wearing a very small towel. Did you notice?"

"Shut your fucking whore mouth," Blackbeard growled again and picked up a scalpel from the tray. He pressed the flat side to Ace's lips, silencing him. "I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate you talking to me like that," he half whispered-half spat into Ace's face.

"No boyfriends here," the firefighter's voice came out mumbled with the pressure of the scalpel still against his lips, but he parted them and gently licked the part of the tool that he could reach. Blackbeard scowled, clearly not pleased by the response, and forcefully jerked the scalpel away from Ace's mouth. The sharp edge of the blade caught his lip and left a shallow cut near the top right of his mouth. Ace hissed at the pain.

Blackbeard kept trying to taunt him, clearly trying to dredge up information on Ace's current lovers, but the firefighter wasn't allowing the man to get anywhere with his questions. The hot-tempered man was easily riled and Ace found that insinuating that Blackbeard should be his new lover was the best way to break the man's concentration and make him mad.

Eventually Blackbeard left again. There were no windows in the room so Ace couldn't even begin to guess how long he'd been there. He guessed that it had probably been at least a day, judging by how hungry he was. Deciding not to worry over things he couldn't control, Ace decided to try to sleep while Blackbeard was most likely doing the same. His last thought as he closed his eyes was of Smoker and how he hoped the police chief would be able to find him soon.

Smoker was sitting in his office pouring over the official statements of all of the victims of the hostage situation. It had been nearly 30 hours now since Ace had been taken and the officers where having a hard time coming up with any leads. The two men that had held everyone on the roof had never revealed their faces or any distinguishing marks. All that the victims could say for sure was that both were males, average height and most likely Caucasian.

The pinging of Smoker's fax machine nearly made him jump as it drug him out of his deep concentration. He rushed over to the machine and picked up the files. As soon as he saw the name on the cover sheet he immediately took the file to the conference room where the rest of the officers were working.

"We have the original file regarding the reason Ace was in witness protection. Let's get to work before we're looking for a body," Smoker growled in his usual authoritative voice. As he and the other officers began digging through the file he tried to hide his own discomfort at the words, though he knew they were true. Once 48 hours rolled around the chances of Ace being dead increased drastically and Smoker didn't want to think about that possibility.

When Ace next woke it was to the sound of the iron door slamming into the concrete wall as Blackbeard burst through. He was, again, joined by a second man who came in before the door was closed once more. Ace's tormentor didn't bother walking around the tray to stand by his side. This time he leaned over Ace's arm, bringing his face into the firefighter's view at an upside down angle.

"Your boyfriend's a police officer...right?" He grinned maniacally, like he had all the answers and had won the game. Ace matched the grin with one of his own as the hand that Blackbeard had leaned over clenched around a large fistful of the man's shirt.

"You're right." Blackbeard's eyes widened in fear, but before he could pull himself out of Ace's grasp, his entire body burst into bright flames. In the seconds before Blackbeard could feel the pain, he tried to run for the door and barreled into the second man in the room engulfing him in flames as well. They screamed in pain and collapsed to the floor moments later.

The flames caught some sort of liquid on the floor that Ace couldn't see from his position on the table. Whatever it was, the liquid was definitely flammable and Ace burst out laughing as the entire room was suddenly filled with flames. The fire might not kill him, but if the concrete collapsed on him he knew he wouldn't survive.

"Got it!"one of the officers shouted as he moved to the map on the whiteboard at the front of the conference room. "One of the gang members on this list recently bought a piece of land...here!" he exclaimed as he marked the property with a pushpin. It was roughly 15 minutes away from the hotel where Ace had been captured and Smoker didn't hesitate.

"It's the best we've got and we're at hour 40. All units! Let's move," he shouted so the officers who weren't in the conference room would hear as well and they all began to prepare for a raid of the property.

The police station was roughly a 15 minute drive from the hotel, but it was in the opposite direction of the property where Ace was likely being held. Smoker was just passing the remains of the hotel when the report of another fire came through his radio.

"Chief, channel four is reporting a fire at the property we're headed to."

"No change, proceed as planned!" He barked into the com before stepping harder on the gas pedal. "Hang on brat...please."

Smoker was the first officer to arrive on the scene and he took a few minutes to observe. It looked like a small house, probably newer, but it was difficult to tell since it was engulfed in flame. The firefighters were battling the flames, but it didn't look like they were having much luck. The Fire Chief walked up to Smoker after shouting a few more orders.

"Did anyone come out before it got this bad? Did your guys see anything?" the chief of police asked.

"Afraid not. The only thing we can tell is that it smells like a mixture of kerosene and fuel oil. It also seems to have originated from the basement, but the guys haven't been able to get anywhere near it to find out more." Smoker's chest suddenly felt like it hurt. If no one had come out, did that mean Ace was...dead? Any hope he may have had of finding the younger man alive evaporated suddenly as the small house collapsed in on itself. If by some miracle Ace could have survived the fire, there was no way he would survive a building falling on him.

A hand on his shoulder surprised Smoker and he turned to meet the spectacled gaze of his assistant chief, Tashigi. In the reflection of her glasses he caught sight of the tears on his face and quickly returned his gaze to the fire. Tashigi said nothing, but she didn't remove her hand from his shoulder either.

It was many long hours before the fire was fully put out. Most of the officers took shifts to watch and wait for the moment they could enter and search for evidence. Smoker stayed the entire time. He hadn't cried for long, instead choosing to convince himself that Ace hadn't been inside at all. In fact he had sent some of his officers back to the station to keep looking for other leads. Ace hadn't officially been found so they were to act as though he was still a missing person until they learned otherwise.

Once the firefighters had deemed the building safe enough to be searched the fire chief helped Smoker and Tashigi gear up to go in. Even though the fire was out they would still be wearing safety equipment. It had been Tashigi's idea that only she and Smoker would go in at first. If they needed assistance she would call more officers in later and Smoker couldn't be more grateful for her understanding of his needs.

One of the firefighters guided the two officers through the rubble to the entrance of the basement. As they carefully made their way down Smoker noticed that most of the building had been made of concrete. The heat of the fire had cracked it in several places and some of it had collapsed, but for the most part the basement area appeared to be intact.

"The fire seems to have started on the bottom level. That's why it took us so long to put it out. This place has 6 underground levels," the firefighter explained as he lead them to the next set of concrete steps that lead down. Smoker swallowed, but Tashigi voiced the question he had wanted to ask.

"How many levels are under water now?"

"One completely. The second is under water up to the knee," the firefighter responded as they made their way down the third set of steps. So far the levels had been pretty bare. There were a lot of charred masses that appeared to have been barrels originally and Smoker was reminded of the fire chief's comment, 'kerosene and fuel oil.' There were many piles of ashes and charred remains of furniture here and there, but none of the ash piles looked human.

"Alright, this is the farthest we can go until the water is pumped out," the firefighter stated as they descended the fifth set of stairs. He allowed the police officers to take the lead now and they all stepped into the knee deep water.

Since the square footage of this building was so small there hadn't really been any rooms on the other levels of the basement, but this level had at least four. Tashigi moved to a door on the right of the stairs and Smoker walked forward to take the door on the left. The doors were iron and so they had survived the fire, but the heat and stripped all paint from their surfaces.

"Where is the stair case to get to the next level?" Smoker asked the firefighter before pulling open the door.

"Through that room. It's along the back wall of the one beyond it. We haven't bothered to look to much back there though, so be careful." Smoker nodded before stepping into the first room.

There were charred pieces of wood floating in the water and Smoker guessed they might have been crates at one point. There were tools hanging on metal hooks on the walls. Some, like the hacksaws, had fallen to the floor when their wooden handles had turned to ash. There were hammer heads, pliers, chisels and various other instruments still on the walls. Smoker had the sinking suspicion that they weren't used for wood working.

Moving carefully to make sure he didn't step on anything hidden beneath the water, Smoker moved to the other door and pulled on it. The iron protested loudly. The heat of the fire must have been more intense back here as it seemed to have even affected the integrity of the door. Placing both hands on the handle, Smoker gave it a powerful yank and flinched slightly as the iron screeched across the concrete under the water.

There was more debris in the water of this room. The majority of the metal hooks on the wall were bare so whatever had been stored here must have been flammable. A charred and soggy couch sat against the wall opposite the stairs to Smoker's right. The room was long and narrow. The door Smoker had come through was at one end. The entrance to the stair case and the couch were about half way down. Beyond them was a lot of floating debris and a few various chairs.

Smoker still hadn't seen anything that resembled a body and there had been no indication from Tashigi or the firefighter that they had seen anything either. The police chief tried to keep a level head. There were only three possibilities left. Either they had missed something (not very likely), Ace was never here (wishful thinking), or...Ace was...down there. Smoker shuddered as he passed the entrance to the staircase.

Something white caught Smoker's eye and he moved to the back corner of the room. There was a sink here that he hadn't noticed before. There was a charred, soggy, black mass sitting up in the water next to it, but a small patch of white was peaking out about half way down. Hesitantly, Smoker reached out his safety-gloved hand and gripped what he could now tell was cloth. He pulled and his heart stopped.

"Holy fucking shit." Ace was leaning against the wall, naked and as pale as death except for the angry red cuts covering most of his torso. Smoker bit his lip, trying not to lose it. He allowed instinct to take over and he leaned down to check for a pulse, as he had at so many other crime scenes. The first thing he felt was the sickly coldness of Ace's damp skin and he nearly wretched. Before he could pull his hand away he thought he felt a faint flutter.

"No fucking way," Smoker breathed as he pressed his fingers back against Ace's pulse point. "Tashigi!" He screamed as he hoisted Ace into his arms and began making his way out of the narrow room. "Tashigi!"

"Sir?!" The captain sounded alarmed as she ran into the tool room to meet him.

"Get medical now. Keep it to yourself though. If he lives we don't want anyone to know that," Smoker added. Somehow through his extreme shock his police chief brain had managed to realize that using this opportunity to fake Ace's death would be the best way to keep him safe in the future...if he lived that long.

By the time Smoker got Ace to the surface an ambulance was waiting. It's lights were not flashing and everyone present believed that they were only there to take away a body so a doctor could officially call time of death. No one was able to get close enough to see what the person Smoker was carrying looked like.


	6. Chapter 6

This is it! The last chapter. It's a bit short, but hey, I wrote it after a very long day at work and at nearly 2am. Sorry if I missed any errors. Smut warning for this chapter! Enjoy!

Also, I don't own One Piece, the characters or Dance For You by Beyonce!

**Chapter 6**

The recovery process was going to be a long one this time. Ace was once again (remarkably) unburned, but the smoke damage to his lungs and throat were much worse than when he had saved those people some months ago. By the time they had gotten him to the hospital Ace's airway was nearly completely closed because of the inflammation.

When Smoker described the state he had found Ace in, the doctor's admitted that the wet blanket was probably the only reason the man was alive. No one could explain how he had managed not to get a single burn however. Smoker kept wondering about that as he sat by Ace's beside, waiting for the firefighter to wake from his coma.

The police chief had kept the fact that Ace was still alive secret. The only people who knew were himself, Tashigi, Issho and the medical staff. The US Marshals had been informed by Issho and they made sure that the hospital staff was aware they were treating someone who was under witness protection. As a result the staff that treated Ace was a small number of people and they were all bound by law to keep their mouths shut about their patient.

Witness protection was completely on board with Smoker's plan of using the fire to fake Ace's death. There had been a press conference a few days after the fire during which the names of the deceased were released. Ace had no living family so the fire department had held a small memorial service and Smoker had attended. As he watched the group of people he realized that not all of them were firefighters.

There was a group of younger people there that Smoker was sure had been at the club that night with Ace. He was also fairly certain that the blonde had been at the pole dancing class with Ace. The entire group was huddled together off to one side of the room. The blonde was crying in the arms of a green-haired man. A woman with black hair was crying silently as she clutched the arm of a sobbing red-headed woman. A few others were standing with them, but Smoker's attention was drawn to a younger man who looked remarkably similar to Ace.

"Why aren't we searching for whoever did this?!" he shouted angrily. Some of the firemen turned to look sadly at him, but no one else spoke. "Ace wouldn't die in such a small fire for no reason! He wouldn't..." The kid's lower lip began to quiver and the red head moved forward to wrap her arms around him.

"Luffy, don't," she pleaded, pressing her face into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around the woman as tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"He was my brother..." Luffy nearly whispered before letting his head drop, the tears flowing freely. That was when Smoker had to leave.

He ran his hands through his hair for what must have been the millionth time and stood. He'd been sleeping in Ace's hospital room for the past week and he was starting to go a little stir crazy. Walking into the bathroom, Smoker splashed some cold water on his face and dried off before he caught a glimpse of himself in the small mirror above the sink. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked like hell. Smoker scoffed at himself before walking back into the room and over to his cot.

"Smoker." The police chief froze in his actions, positive that he must be hearing things now. Then the quiet, gruff voice spoke again. "Smoky...I know..you're here." The speech was a bit broken and the voice was hoarse, but there was no mistaking it. Smoker shot off of the cot and was by Ace's side in an instant.

"Hey, you're awake..." and as an afterthought, "brat." He reached across the bed to press the little red call button. Neither man spoke as they waited for the nurse. Smoker couldn't take his eyes off of Ace's. The younger man stared back, but their silence wasn't uncomfortable.

Ace turned his attention to the nurse when she came in and did his best to answer first her questions, and then the doctor's. Smoker's eyes never left Ace however. At some point during the younger man's coma Smoker had come to the realization that he loved Ace and now that the man was awake, all Smoker could think about was telling him. It would have to wait though. As soon as the medical staff left, the US Marshals made their appearance and began to explain everything to Ace. Smoker had already been briefed so he left the room for a bit.

It took a while for Ace to accept the fact that the new family he had built for himself, in his group of friends, was being ripped away from him again. He tried to make it seem like he didn't care, but Smoker could tell he was hurting. That kid at the memorial, Luffy, had called Ace his brother and Smoker had no doubt that Ace felt the same way. It would be painful, but this would keep everyone safe and Ace understood that.

In a few days Ace would be well enough to leave the hospital. At that time the US Marshals would be relocating him per the witness protection protocol. Smoker suddenly became a bundle of nerves as he tried to decide what to do. Ace was hurting right now, but Smoker couldn't just let him leave without telling him...

"Hey brat...uh, Ace," he finally forced himself to speak from his position on his cot.

"Yeah?" came the tentative response. The voice was less hoarse than before thankfully.

"I...well, I uh...shit," Smoker cursed his nerves and chanced a glance at Ace's bed. The firefighter was regarding him curiously, head cocked slightly and his left eyebrow raised. Smoker almost thought the man was smirking at him and he quickly averted his gaze. "I...wish you didn't have to leave."

"Well, I'm technically a dead man now...wouldn't want to scare your citizens into thinking zombies exist," Ace chuckled, but Smoker could hear the pain behind those words. Shit, that wasn't how he wanted this conversation to go.

"No, I mean...I wish you didn't have to leave...me...Goddammit..." The police chief gave up on words and stood suddenly. He strode purposefully to the side of Ace's bed and, without waiting for a response, pulled the younger man into a kiss. He poured all of the emotion he felt into the kiss, trying to tell Ace how much he loved him with only his mouth and tongue. The younger man gasped before wrapping his arms around Smoker's neck and deepening the kiss.

"Come with me," Ace spoke as they finally broke apart. The police chief had to resist the urge to agree immediately. There were still a few answers that he wanted before he fully committed to this. He expressed this to the firefighter who nodded, resignedly.

During the last couple days of Ace's recovery he did his best to answer every question Smoker had. He explained his pyrokinesis and how the gang had forced him to use it. He told Smoker about his family in Japan and how they had died, about how he had testified against the gang leader and about his full relationship to Blackbeard, the man who had personally killed his family.

Smoker sat quietly as he listened to the full story, but he found it difficult to believe the stuff about the pyrokinesis. Ace rolled his eyes and grabbed a tissue off of the table by his bed. He balled it up and laid it flat in the palm of his hand. Holding the hand out toward Smoker he spoke.

"My name is Gol D. Ace, AKA Firefist, and this is why," he said before the tissue burst into flame. It burned up quickly and the fire went out when it found nothing else to catch onto.

"Holy fuck." Ace chuckled nervously at Smoker's response. He was used to two reactions when people learned of his ability; complete fear or intent to use him in one way or another. "That was...beautiful..." The words were almost a whisper, but Ace heard them and his heart nearly stopped. Suddenly they were kissing again and Ace tried to ignore the warm feeling in his chest.

The US Marshals weren't thrilled about having to relocate both of them together, but Ace wouldn't take no for an answer. He had always adhered to their rules in the past, they could grant him this one small favor now. After some grumbling they reluctantly agreed and both men were relocated to a small suburban area that was only too pleased to have the gay couple move in next door. Ace chuckled as they received another pie from a happy neighbor. These people had no idea that the men in this house were not going to be the trendy, quiet and respectable couple of the neighborhood's dreams.

For the first couple of weeks they hardly had any time to spend with each other. Every spare moment was spent searching for new jobs and getting settled into their new home. Smoker ended up landing a job as a security guard at a local mall. He planned to eventually work his way back into the police force, but a security job was just fine for now. Ace decided to avoid the fire department this time as there was too much potential to expose his abilities there. Instead he landed himself a job in construction where his parkour abilities came in handy.

"I'm home," Smoker called as he walked into the house after his shift one Saturday afternoon. Ace had worked a morning shift so he had been home for a couple of hours and he was ready when Smoker walked into the bedroom.

_I just wanna..Show you how much I appreciate you. _The music of Beyonce's Dance For You started and Smoker's eyes immediately landed on Ace's toned body bent slightly as he set his phone on the bedside table. The younger man then turned to face him and began to stalk toward where he stood, still in the doorway. _Wanna show you how much, I really care about yo heart. _Smoker swallowed, trying to keep his wits about him as his brain threatened to melt.

Ace had never said the words...He'd never told Smoker that he loved him, but Ace had plans to change that. Granted, Smoker hadn't said the words either. He'd just kissed Ace nearly senseless, but Ace knew what that kiss had meant. He reached forward and grabbed Smoker's black tie, tugging him toward the bed and then pushing him down to sit on the edge of it as he began to dance. _I wanna make that body rock, sit back and watch. Tonight I'm gonna dance for you._

Ace rolled his body sensually, allowing his muscles to ripple beneath the skin tight black shirt he was wearing. He was still wearing his signature jean shorts, that part would probably never change, but Smoker couldn't take his eyes off of Ace. _And I wanna say thank you in case I don't thank you enough._ Ace was throwing all of his talent into this dance. It had been far too long since he'd had sex with this man, but he wanted to take his time and express with his actions everything that he couldn't put into words.

_Tonight I'm gonna put my body on your body_. Ace smirked when Smoker licked his lips, hands reaching up to tug the tie off and start on the buttons of his shirt. He continued to work his body around, leaning back slightly so that he was relying on the muscles of his stomach to keep him upright. He kept his arms at his sides, presenting his body to the officer before him. _Baby lemme put my body on your body._ Ace's hands began to skim up his sides, slowly pulling the tight shirt up. His eyes were now closed as he lost himself in the music.

_It's bout to go down_. The music came to a stop and Ace lazily rolled his head forward, opening his eyes to take in the sight before him. Smoker had stripped himself of every article of clothing except his boxers and as soon as Ace's eyes met his he pulled the younger man down on top of him on the bed. Their lips met in a passionate kiss and Ace moaned as Smoker's fingers skimmed his flesh as the shirt was tugged up and over his head.

Ace's hands roamed over the exposed torso of the man beneath him and he groaned when his movements caused Smoker to thrust up against him. Smoker managed to get Ace's shorts off and suddenly they were both naked, crawling up to lay properly on the bed. A lubed finger found its way to Ace's entrance and he moaned when it pushed inside. Smoker broke their kiss to suckle the skin of his neck, leaving a mark, before trailing kisses down his chest.

"Ah!" Ace cried out as Smoker's mouth closed over his nipple. His fingers found their way into the older man's white hair and he was lost in the sensations of his lover's mouth on him and fingers inside of him as Smoker worked a second digit into his entrance. He worked in a third digit just before his mouth closed over Ace's member.

"Shit," Ace cursed as his hips involuntarily thrust forward into the warm wetness of Smoker's mouth. Ace gripped Smoker's hair and pulled him up to lay beside him. Pushing the older man onto his back, Ace moved to straddle Smoker and reached back to guide the officer's length into his entrance. He lowered himself onto the man beneath him and Smoker groaned as he gripped Ace's hips to help support him.

The younger man lifted himself gently before slamming back down onto his length and Smoker nearly growled. When they had fucked the first time it had felt more like a quick fuck and less like they actually cared, but this...What remaining portion of Smoker's brain still worked reminded him of the lyrics of the song Ace had just danced to, combined with the younger man's actions. _Holy shit,_ they were making love.

"Yes," Ace panted as Smoker began to thrust up into him, holding his hips steady as he picked up a punishing rhythm. Ace dropped down to claim Smoker's mouth in a heated kiss and the officer poured everything he had into that embrace.

"You..are..mine," he panted between thrusts. Ace moaned and bit down on the junction of Smoker's neck and shoulder. He growled in appreciation before flipping them over and driving his length into Ace's prostate with every thrust.

"Fuck yes...all yours," Ace panted, moaning deeply when Smoker began to pump his neglected member in time with his thrusts. "Smoker! Ah!" Ace came suddenly, his walls clamping down on Smoker's length in a delicious way that had him tipping over the edge not a moment later. Smoker continued to thrust through the aftershocks, drawing out their pleasure, before he withdrew to collapse onto the bed. When they finally caught their breaths Ace spoke first.

"I love you." Smoker froze, only for a second, before he pulled Ace into his arms and kissed the younger man's hair.

"I love you too...brat." Ace chuckled and nuzzled his face into his lover's chest before falling into a deep, contented sleep. Smoker hugged the younger man closer, glad that he had chosen to relocate with him and imaging waking up with this man in his arms. That was an image he hoped to see every day for the rest of his life.


End file.
